A roundup of news on sporting events, people and places in Southeast Michigan by columnist Jim Evans.

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Find those idiots who beat the Giants' fan!

Make them run the gauntlet.

Have everybody in line smack the idiots silly with Louisville Sluggers.

A bat with decent heft; preferably solid white ash and not maple. Maple splinters a little too much, and no sense wasting a solid cut.

Find the guys who beat a San Francisco Giants fan outside of Dodger Stadium after last week’s opening game. The victim is Bryan Stow, a 42-year-old paramedic and father of two, who shows signs of brain damage and remains in critical condition, a doctor said Tuesday. Stow suffered a severe skull fracture and bad bruising to his brain’s front lobes.

Stow was in the parking lot after the Dodgers’ 2-1 victory on March 31 when two young punks with shaved heads in Dodgers’ clothing began taunting and swearing at him and two others in Giants’ gear.

Stow was punched in the back of the head. He fell down, bashing his head on the pavement, and was kicked before the attackers ran off.

They fled in a four-door sedan driven by a woman who had a boy with her, police said.

Composite sketches of the men have been released.

The City Council on Tuesday voted to offer a $50,000 reward for information leading to arrests. With previous offers from the Dodgers, Giants and others, that brings the total to $100,000.

Investigators also were looking into unconfirmed reports that Stow's attackers punched three or four young men in Giants gear only minutes before Stow was assaulted, Carrillo said.

Stow, an enthusiastic Giants fan, was attending his first game at Dodgers Stadium and had looked forward to the game all year, his first cousin, John Stow, said.

However, he may have had some worries after arriving.

''During the game, my wife received a text message from him ... He basically said he was scared inside the stadium,'' John Stow said, adding that his cousin did not usually make such comments lightly.

The punishment should not come lightly, either. Nobody in that gauntlet line had better choke up. No slap singles or drag bunts. Aim for the fences, please.